STARS AND THEIR CARS
The Age
Saturday October 24, 2009
IAN KIERNAN CHAIRMAN OF CLEAN UP AUSTRALIAWhat was your first car? It was a Lancia Lambda 7 series, 1927. I bought it from a friend of mine and it was a remarkable car. It was the first car to have independent front suspension and a luggage boot. It was pretty quick. It looked like a big praying mantis. I actually once spun it out in the wet and it was just amazing.What are you driving now? A Ford Falcon ute with a production gas engine. I'm absolutely addicted to utes. It's only a two-seater and that suits me fine €” you don't have to ferry people around all the time. I fill it up for $42 and I get 500 clicks out of that and it's much better for the environment than petrol vehicles.Is it true you also have a penchant for vehicle restoration? I bought a 1927 T-Model Ford, the last of the roadsters, and I'm just in the process of restoring it. I don't know how long it'll take or how much it will cost. Isn't that the rule with the restoration of cars? It's all in bits but I've started on it. I've also been buying up 1970s Bedford trucks.What's your pet road peeve? P-plate drivers who are at that stage in their life where they know they can't die, so they endanger us. It used to be the males that were the aggressive drivers but it's not just the males now. I've been passed by a young female in some little four-cylinder car doing 140 clicks. That's just too frightening.And no doubt people who throw litter out of their car windows aren't that flash, either. That's disgusting. Even worse are the ones who pull up at the traffic lights and empty their ashtray.OWEN THOMSON
© 2009 The Age